With New Decree, Trump Seeks to Cow the Legal Profession

[highplainsdem]

Last edited Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:34 PM - Edit history (2)

Source: NYT

President Trump broadened his campaign of retaliation against lawyers he dislikes with a new memorandum that threatens to use government power to punish any law firms that, in his view, unfairly challenge his administration.

The memorandum directs the heads of the Justice and Homeland Security Departments to "seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable and vexatious litigation against the United States" or in matters that come before federal agencies.

Mr. Trump issued the order late Friday night, after a tumultuous week for the American legal community in which one of the country's premier firms, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, struck a deal with the White House to spare the company from a punitive decree issued by Mr. Trump the previous week.

Vanita Gupta, who as a civil rights lawyer and a former Justice Department official has both sued the government and defended it in court, said Mr. Trump's memo "attacks the very foundations of our legal system by threatening and intimidating litigants who aim to hold our government accountable to the law and the Constitution."

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/us/politics/trump-memo-lawyers.html

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I've edited this to swap the Reuters story for the NY Times, which has a much more accurate headline.

Trump's memo is here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/preventing-abuses-of-the-legal-system-and-the-federal-court/

This is partly an attack on Marc Elias, and names him, but it's a threat against all lawyers and lae firms.

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Unfortunately, far too many attorneys and law firms have long ignored these requirements when litigating against the Federal Government or in pursuing baseless partisan attacks. To address these concerns, I hereby direct the Attorney General to seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States or in matters before executive departments and agencies of the United States.

-snip-

I further direct the Attorney General to take all appropriate action to refer for disciplinary action any attorney whose conduct in Federal court or before any component of the Federal Government appears to violate professional conduct rules, including rules governing meritorious claims and contentions, and particularly in cases that implicate national security, homeland security, public safety, or election integrity. In complying with this directive, the Attorney General shall consider the ethical duties that law partners have when supervising junior attorneys, including imputing the ethical misconduct of junior attorneys to partners or the law firm when appropriate.

I further direct that, when the Attorney General determines that conduct by an attorney or law firm in litigation against the Federal Government warrants seeking sanctions or other disciplinary action, the Attorney General shall, in consultation with any relevant senior executive official, recommend to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, additional steps that may be taken, including reassessment of security clearances held by the attorney or termination of any Federal contract for which the relevant attorney or law firm has been hired to perform services.

I further direct the Attorney General, in consultation with any relevant senior executive official, to review conduct by attorneys or their law firms in litigation against the Federal Government over the last 8 years. If the Attorney General identifies misconduct that may warrant additional action, such as filing frivolous litigation or engaging in fraudulent practices, the Attorney General is directed to recommend to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, additional steps that may be taken, including reassessment of security clearances held by the attorney, termination of any contract for which the relevant attorney or law firm has been hired to perform services, or any other appropriate actions.

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[yellow dahlia]

1. Thanks for keeping us apprised.

Glad I have a glass of wine next to me.

[Karasu]

2. About time someone in the MSM started referring to his EOs as fucking decrees.

[Initech]

3. I decree this bullshit administration is illegal!

[AmericaUnderSiege]

4. They need to get aggressive about this. The holding-action method doesn't work.

I recall the Cheney era, and the pitiful, half-hearted measures that were taken. The guy who argued for them torture was legal and limitless is still a Berkeley professor, I believe. They couldn't even get him fired, let alone disabarred. Gotta be more serious this time. Either your profession has a higher priority than itself, it has no value.

[Bayard]

5. "frivolous, unreasonable and vexatious litigation"

Now, that is something that he is, indeed, the king of. Hypocrisy, thy name is trump.

[dalton99a]

6. .

https://archive.ph/6xjNJ

[EndlessWire]

7. This is extremely upsetting.

I hope that CJ Roberts takes note. They're going to spend all their time litigating cases filed by pissed off law firms.

This can't be legal. We've seen one huge law firm cave already. As sad as that is, the rest of them need to stand firm. These threats have nothing to do with helping people prosper. He is trying to control the only thing we are using now, Rule of Law, to overwhelm our strength against him.

I really hope that the USSC stops this. It will be interesting to see what rumpy comes up with to get even with Roberts. Maybe Roberts didn't like that little "thank you" that got flashed in front of the whole nation at the end of the self serving SOTU speech. Maybe it was cringe worthy.

They should go back and revisited that "King Donald" decision, and see what Trump does about it. This 6-3 court will be remembered for enabling a dictator.

FIGHT! We have to get rid of this guy. Put him on a boat to nowhere.

[electric_blue68]

8. Oh. 🤔 Sez Mr Litigiousness.